Yearly Archives: 2009

As Thanksgiving draws near every November, I vow that I’ll finish the family Christmas newsletter before the after-Christmas sales have begun. I promise myself I’ll have all the gifts chosen and beautifully wrapped (that means there’s a bow on each one) before Christmas Eve. And I pledge that this year I’ll have practiced a handful of Christmas songs ahead of time so I can confidently join in the holiday festivities with my ukulele at my side.

I can’t help you much with your own newsletter and Christmas shopping, but if you, too, happily anticipate combining Christmas festivities with your favorite little four-stringed instrument, I have some advice for you: Start now to get your fingers in shape for the holiday fun. That way you’ll be comfortable with a variety of ukulele-played tunes by the time the sterile holiday Muzak is filling the malls!

The links here will definitely help you get into the holiday spirit with a variety of songs for ukulele. Consider it an early Christmas stocking stuffer just for you—and they’re all free!

If you have your own favorite ukulele Christmas song collection links to share, add your comment below.

2) Tablature (http://akulele.com/tablature.html) (aka some “fingerpicking”) by the folks who make Akulele Ukuleles. Scroll down to see “Silent Night,” Away in a Manger,”Carol of the Bells,” “Nutrcracker March” and “Ode to Joy.”

3) John King was renowned for his approach to ukulele—he delighted in playing this humble little instrument as if it were as worthy of depth and interest as any of the more “classical” stringed instruments. His ukulele arrangements of classic music and Hawaiian tunes were legendary. Here you can find tablature arrangements of “What Child is This” and “Carol of the Bells,” just in time for the holiday season. http://www.nalu-music.com/ukulele-tablature/

4) Not specific to ukuleles, but a variety of Christmas songs with chord names (http://bettylou.zzruss.com/xmas.htm) provided by BettyLou. Just play the named chord shape you know for your ukulele.

5) Ukulele tablature by Dominator (http://dominator.ukeland.com/index2.shtml), a good friend who lives in Sacramento and is well-known in the world of ukuleles for his tablature and inspired playing style—and now he’s *making* ukulele, too! Includes “Christmas Island.”

6) Classic Christmas songs (http://ukedom.com/christmas.html), arranged for ukulele by Ron, who describes himself as an “old strummer”–but his arrangements are fresh and fun.

7) The Christmas ukulele arrangements (http://www.tufts.edu/%7Egdallal/ChristmasCarols.pdf) in this 34-page book by Jerry Dallal just sound really good to me–and are simple to play and sing. I especially like “In Excelsis Deo.”

8) Ukulele chords and arrangements for Christmas songs (http://group.pinecreekbay.com/?page_id=13) by the Grand Rapids Organization of Ukulele Players (scroll down a bit). Who wouldn’t like “The Chipmunk Song” played under their Christmas tree on an ukulele this year??? Only a Scrooge would decline a serenade session like that!

9) Jump over to Ukulele Boogaloo (http://www.alligatorboogaloo.com/uke/xmas/) for some fun holiday ukulele arrangements—from “Christmas in Killarney” to “Santa Baby” and “Holly Jolly Christmas.”

11) Just one Christmas song at this link, but it’s in full tablature and arranged beautifully for the ukulele. Get “The Christmas Song” (aka “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”. (http://www.mediafire.com/?cmdxgxdzfzm)

Lovely—and simple!—holiday songs arranged for ukulele fingerpicking

If you’re looking to play something a bit different this Christmas season, I’m going to recommend a wonderful resource which has Christmas melodies all tabbed out for “fingerpicking” style.

This means the notation shown carries the melody—sometimes “up the neck” even—and it makes for some nice playing for your family and friends in which you don’t have to sing along (especially great for those of us with not-so-wonderful singing voices).

I know it isn’t a “free” resource, but when you purchase it (for the princely sum of $9—heck that’s not even three visits to Starbucks for a fancy coffee), you receive the PDF with the songs and instruction—as well as MP3s of the selections so you can hear what they’re supposed to sound like. If you’re not sure you’ll like that kind of playing, you can listen to the songs online before you buy using the link below.

Again, I recommend this book highly. If you find you like this style of playing, the author has a few “bundles” of different fingerpicking style songbooks, including Ragtime, National Anthems and even a blues course.

Go here for How to Play Christmas Ukulele (http://howtoplayukulele.com/how-to-play-christmas-ukulele/)

My intentions are always good.

As Thanksgiving draws near every November, I vow that I’ll finish the family Christmas newsletter before the after-Christmas sales have begun. I promise myself I’ll have all the gifts chosen and beautifully wrapped (that means there’s a bow on each one) before Christmas Eve. And I pledge that this year I’ll have practiced a handful of Christmas songs ahead of time so I can confidently join in the holiday festivities with my ukulele at my side.

I can’t help you much with your own newsletter and Christmas shopping, but if you, too, happily anticipate combining Christmas festivities with your favorite little four-stringed instrument, I have some advice for you: Start now to get your fingers in shape for the holiday fun. That way you’ll be comfortable with a variety of ukulele-played tunes by the time the sterile holiday Muzak is filling the malls!

Back in 2003, the good folks at Ukulele Hall of Fame decided to create the Fleabag Music songbook, described as “Songs for Uke Gatherings.” It was a labor of love, featuring 10 classic tunes often played on an ukulele—ranging from Hawaiian to Tin Pan Alley and folk.

The idea was to have one simple book (with standard music notation as well as chord charts) so ukulele strummers could be “on the same page” in playing some well-known (and all public domain) tunes.

While most of us know many of the songs, there are some of these old tunes that, ahem, some of us (did you see me raising my hand?) may have heard of but don’t really “know.” That’s where Bruce Evans and his wife, Karol, come in to the picture. The two of them paired up for some delightful strumming and singing to create a collection of MP3s of the 10 songs. That way, those of us who don’t know the songs well don’t have to fudge the melody anymore—we have something to listen to that will set us straight!

When you head to a jam session, is your collection of “must-have” music sheets heavier than your ukulele?

That’s what it’s like for me. Wait—let’s change that: That’s what it was like for me before I spent some serious time with Jim D’Ville’s DVD, “Play Ukulele by Ear (click the link here for buying details).”

Jim, a gifted teacher and an ukulele player with some seriously awesome chops, created this DVD based on his popular workshops around the Portland and Pacific Northwest. Jim is also the co-author of the book/CD combo: “The Natural Way to Music.”

About UkuleleTonya.com

UkuleleTonya.com is one of the ways Tonya shares her love of everything ukulele with the rest of the world. When she's not working hard on her business, you can find Tonya strumming her favorite uke, or flying around the country attending different ukulele festivals.